I don't want to die without any scars.-Chuck Palahniuk.
The masked man walked along the halls of the shrine. Nagato had betrayed him. Nagato! He was now dead, if what Zetsu had told him was true. He gave the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki his faith and now he was dead.
He planned to retrieve the Rinnegan. That was what Madara wanted. For him to take them and replace one of his eyes with one and to set the other aside for him.
Their plans though, had been ruined. Nearly everyone in the Akatsuki was dead. Orochimaru was taken out of the plan years ago. Konoha had been steadily defeating their members over the years and they had failed at capturing any Jinchuuriki. Tsuki no Me Keikaku wasn't going as planned. Currently, they had no way of capturing the other Jinchuuriki without serious risk or possible sacrifice, which they couldn't chance at the moment.
Especially since the Rinnegan wasn't in their possession yet. But he was on his way to retrieving it. With the Rinnegan in their possession, everything could go according to plan, though it may take quite a bit more time than they previously assumed it would.
But, in the end, everything would fall into place.
He walked under the archway, into a brightly lit room. Ahead of him, behind two pillars on a large bed of white origami lilies. Nagato on the right, eyes closed and his hair the same color as the flowers he laid on. Yahiko, was laid to rest on the left side, his eyes closed as well.
Walking up to Nagato's body, he grabbed the collar of the dead man's cloak and moved to open the eyes and begin the extraction.
He froze, as pure unadulterated rage filled him. Where were they?!
"What is the matter?"
He didn't turn around to face Zetsu, whom he was sure had followed him. He just stood there, glaring at the body of the man who was once under his control.
"Find Konan, and tell me where she is," he ground out.
Zetsu made a high pitched humming noise, "What's the matter?"
"The Rinnegan," he stated turning back toward the door, leaving the bodies in their place, "is gone!"
Konan looked over the land of Amegakure. The buildings pointing into the sky. The rain, pouring down on the village. Down below, people walked along, rushing from the rain into stores and homes.
She sighed. All was calm. The calm before the storm that is.
"Where are they?!"
Her heart jumped. She had been alone, and now she wasn't! The deep voice that rang with anger chilled her skin. This was what Naruko had mentioned. She pulled the kunai that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had given her, out of her pocket and focused her chakra into it. This would get messy.
Konan immediately let her body disperse into thousands of paper pieces that folded into butterflies that floated off in the direction of the field far outside the village. Tobi followed her, getting ready for the fight that was about to happen.
Konan landed in the center of the field and Tobi touched down several meters away. Zetsu rose from the ground and Konan frowned. She hoped Naruko showed up soon.
She lifted the weapon and threw it on the ground in front of her. The battle was beginning.
Naruko grumbled as she sat in the Hokage's office. The whole inauguration ceremony was going to be held in a week and she had to prepare. Jiraiya and Tsunade had been giving her tips and Sasuke, whom had just returned from his mission, sat beside her to lend support.
"Kakashi's a bastard, " she grumbled, twitching in her seat.
Sasuke patted her back, "He couldn't have been that bad."
Her mouth was set in a grim line, "Then you'll love to hear about the innuendos he came up with. He propositioned me as well."
Sasuke froze, "I'll kill him!"
Naruko grabbed his hand to prevent him from moving, "I need you to stay here right now. Someone with a brain needs to keep me level headed."
Sasuke settled back.
Tsunade and Jiraiya were grinning like idiots. Tsunade held her hand out and Jiraiya grumbled, slapping the money into her palm. "I swear you tell her about these things so you'll win!"
The busty blond stuck her tongue out, "You shouldn't bet with me when our goddaughter is concerned. If you haven't noticed, my luck is unnaturally good when she's involved."
Naruko jerked in her seat, getting everyone's attention. She sat, stiff as a board and looking ahead, but not seeing anything.
Sasuke was trying to shake her and Jiraiya was waving a hand in front of her face. They couldn't get a reaction.
Jiraiya turned to his teammate, "Great, you killed her! You have the worst luck ever!"
Naruko smacked away the hand shaking her and stood abruptly, "Konan is in danger."
Jiraiya froze, "How do you know that?"
"I gave her a kunai with a modified Hiraishin seal on it. It's my special way of using Hiraishin to travel extreme distances. But, it only works if the person channels their chakra into it, allowing me to feel where they are. I gave a few to a couple other people incase, and I specifically told her to only use it if Madara came for her."
She looked at Tsunade pleadingly. "I can't just leave her to fight him. He wants the Rinnegan and since she no longer has it, he'll kill her!"
Tsunade frowned, "I can't send you on your own to face someone who was a challenge for even the Shodaime. I do have faith in your abilities, but I'd prefer if you'd take some others."
"Jiraiya-sensei, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shisui and Itachi if he isn't on a mission. No one else in the village would be able to handle this and you're still the Hokage, at least in name, so you can't leave."
Tsunade snapped her fingers and an Anbu appeared. "Get me Kakashi and Itachi."
"It's a mission!" Naruko added before the Anbu left. She turned to her godmother, "I'll pay for it, but this is important. Any anger at Kakashi any be dealt with later. Right now, I need to put seal on everyone, otherwise getting there will take too long."
Naruko went through the process of placing seal on Jiraiya and Sasuke's backs. When Kakashi Shisui and Itachi arrived, she placed a seal on the Uchiha's and ignored Kakashi, since he already had one.
She walked in front of Tsunade's desk and cleared her throat.
"We are about to go on an important mission. Madara Uchiha is attacking the leader of Amegakure, whom is under my protection. Konan's friend Nagato gave me his Rinnegan, but there was a possibility that Madara may come a take if from Nagato's corpse as payback for pulling out of the Akatsuki. When he finds out that the Rinnegan is gone, he's most likely going to go after Konan, so I have her a special kunai to alert me of when he appeared. A moment ago, I got the notice and we're about to off against a man who claims to be Madara Uchiha and possibly his partner Zetsu. Zetsu has the Shodaime's DNA in his 'white' body, and can create limitless clones of himself. He can also copy chakra perfectly which makes him a good infiltrator, because you would never see a difference between the real person and him. 'Black' Zetsu, can telepathically speak with Madara and can keep a dying person alive by attaching himself to the body. As for Madara himself, he used his Sharingan to control Kyuubi and forced her to attack the village those years ago. I know nothing else of his abilities, but I'd presume that he's stronger than even Itachi. So, having Itachi, Shisui, Sasuke and Kakashi who have all mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan, will be helpful. The Uchiha's have perfected Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susano. Kakashi is a legend with over a thousand jutsu in his arsenal. Jiraiya is a Sennin and a Sannin. I am a Sennin and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, so I think this group will be good."
The five men nodded and Sasuke moved to wrap his arms around her waist as she held Kakashi and Itachi's hand. Jiraiya and Shisui put their hands on her head and she used the Hiraishin.
Konan used her Kami Shuriken as she tried to corner Tobi. Using her origami, she was able to create wings for herself, giving her an aerial advantage. She was trying to get him to move toward the lake, but every one of her attacks would just go right through him! So, she resolved to flying there herself, letting him come after her.
Tobi allowed another wave of paper shuriken pass through his body, making Konan growl in annoyance. He was a pain in the ass to kill!
The three pronged kunai she had tossed to the side lowed a bright white.
Both Konan and Tobi blocked their faces. When the light died down, they were greeted with the sight of six Konoha shinobi n a strange huddle. They all broke apart quickly.
Konan gaped as Naruko approached, "I told you I'd show up."
"Thank you."
Naruko and the men with her, formed a line beside Konan, facing Madara.
"YOU!" he gasped.
Naruko glared, "What about me?"
The lone Sharingan eye shining from the hole in his mask glared at her. "You took my Rinnegan!"
Naruko's brow quirked, "Yours? Nagato gave it to me."
"I implanted the Rinnegan into him when he was too young to remember. They are mine!"
Everyone reeled back in shock.
Naruko shrugged after a moment, "Well they're mine now, so too bad. If you want the Rinnegan, you have to take all of us, and I guarantee that it won't be easy."
Itachi, Shisui, Sasuke and Kakashi activated their Sharingan's simultaneously. Jiraiya got into a defensive stance. Naruko created a Kage Bunshin and had it go off to gather nature energy.
Madara glared, "I will."
Everything became hectic then. Kakashi stayed behind to try and capture Madara in Kamui, but was having bit of a difficult time doing so. Like there was some sort of shield that was repelling the effects of Kamui.
Madara's body was completely intangible as Naruko sent a league of Kage Bunshin to attach him.
Konan pulled Naruko aside, "He can do that for five minutes. Then it won't work. It they keep doing it, he'll run out of time and we can injure him. I have a trap set in the lake, but we need to get him over there. He uses an ability called Kamui to send parts of his body that overlap with any solid object, to another dimension. It then looks like he's phasing through things. It'll take some time before he can become intangible again."
Naruko gaped, the word Kamui ringing a bell. She pulled Konan into her arms and Hiraishined to Kakashi's side. She placed the bluenette beside her sensei, "Explain to him what you just told me. Kakashi, I want you to find a way around this when you get everything."
She jumped back into the battle, creating more Kage Bunshin. They had three minutes left before he couldn't use Kamui.
The Bunshin just kept coming, trying to catch him off guard.
"Naruko!"
She jumped back, beside Kakashi, "You got something?"
"I can't use Kamui on him. Like it won't work on him. He uses Kamui to send his body to another dimension, so I want to test something out. Can you make a Rasengan? I'm going to use Kamui to send it away."
Naruko nodded and let the chakre form in her palm, spiralling into a blue ball. Kakashi focused on it and the jutsu and it disappeared, just as a Naruko Bunshin ran a fist through Madara's shoulder.
There was an explosion and Madara hit the ground, just as a Naruko placed a seal on his tangible back.
Kakashi gasped. "Our Kamui is the same! We send things to the same dimension. But no two people have the same inner world or dimension. Which means…" Kakashi trailed off as his eyes became wide.
"Where did you get that eye?!" he yelled at Madara.
Madara stood, clutching his shoulder. Of what was left of it. His right sleeve was gone, showing the stump of his rm that remained. "You were always a smart one Kakashi. Living up to your prodigy name."
Kakashi glared.
Naruko's Bunshin attacked Madara again, but he pulled the intangibility thing again. Naruko reached into her pouch and whipped a kunai at his head. It passed through his head and she Hiraishined in time, grabbing the weapon, Futon: Rasengan spinning in her other hand. She slammed it into his back, loving how he crumbled to the ground, splitting the earth beneath him.
She used the Hiraishin to get away, incase he pulled something. Appearing behind Kakashi.
He just stood up, after having a strong wind jutsu shoved into his back. His mask cracked slightly, part of it missing, revealing marred skin surrounding the Sharingan. Kakashi let out a strangled gasp and his body began to shake.
"Obito."
The man chuckled and removed the rest of his mask.
"It is you."
Everyone looked at Kakashi, who was stiff as a board. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Kakashi, who is this guy?" Naruko asked.
"He was…..my old teammate…Obito Uchiha….he died at Kannabi Bridge."
The man, no identified as Obito, gave a humorless laugh, "I'm going to destroy Konoha. But first, I'll take you out Kakashi, for killing Rin."
Kakashi fell to his knees, "R-rin."
Obito glared at Kakashi and made a hand sign. "It's a good thing I raided Orochimaru's research while he was a part of the Akatsuki. Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!"
Beside him, a blue light appeared and body formed in the center of it. Leaves blew in the wind as the Konoha shinobi waited for whoever it was that Obito was reanimating.
Jiraiya recognized the man instantly. "Madara Uchiha."
The others Shunshined to Naruko's side when they heard that. Madara Uchiha, the real one it seemed. The man who took on the Shodaime Hokage was standing before them in bright red armour, Sharingan activated. His arms were crossed and he gazed at Obito with a bland look.
"You can't handle a few shinobi? Obito, I thought I taught you better."
Obito frowned, "They figured out my Kamui and can easily counterattack now."
Madara scoffed, "You were too full of yourself. And now, you call upon me to fight for you, because you're in too deep."
Obito didn't look abashed at all. "We are faced with Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake and three Uchiha. Shunshin no Shisui, Itachi the Prodigy and Enton no Sasuke. The blond woman is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki," he explained.
Madara's eyes fixed on the blonde immediately, but she wasn't facing him. She was kneeling beside the silver haired man who was staring at Obito. Beside her, stood a blue haired woman and his eyes narrowed, "What are weak women doing on this battlefield? Jinchuuriki or not?"
Naruko twitched. Sexist bastard! She stood and fixed her eyes on the legend of the Uchiha Clan. "You're Madara Uchiha? What could an old man like you accomplish? You're nearly a century old, and unlike Tsunade Ba-chan, you aren't a medic with a fancy jutsu to keep you looking young all the time. Just because you're in a fake body, doesn't mean you're at your old strength. You've been out of commision for quite a while, and the times have changed. What you once knew, is nothing compared to what we know. You're just an old geezer that was given an extra boost of power, nothing special."
Madara's eyes widened as she opened her eyes. The Rinnegan. She was the possessor of the Rinnegan. His Rinnegan. He scoffed, he could easily make the Sharingan he was using become the Rinnegan. He no longer needed the famed Dojutsu. But he was curious. How well could she use it? She was also a Jinchuuriki, of the Kyuubi.
"The Rinnegan is impressive, girl. But that doesn't make you special," he informed her in a haughty tone.
She smirked, "My name is Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze Uchiha. Daughter of the Yondaime Hokage."
His eyes widened slightly. An Uzumaki, just like Mito. But she had no resemblance to the Uchiha, which meant she married one.
"I am the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the Nidaime Ningen Gama Sennin and Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Add the Rinnegan, which I only just received a few weeks ago, into the mix, and I'm a quadruple threat. You have nothing on me but age, Madara-Jiji."
Madara couldn't help but smirk. An Uzumaki, married to an Uchiha, daughter of the Yondaime, became the Rokudaime, is a Jinchuuriki and a Sennin, possess the Rinnegan and dared to call him grandpa. She was still young, even though she was married. Quite obviously not even two decades old yet. Yet she had power, a lot of power. But it was under control, which was what caught his attention. He had perfect chakra control. Her aura was completely at ease and she was perfectly confident in her abilities. Admirable.
"Well then, young lady, would you care to demonstrate your power for me? To claim that you're better than me, is quite an assumption. Prove it," he demanded, flashing in front of her. She caught his kick and threw him back. "Good reflexes," he commented, flipping over and landing perfectly on his feet. He held his palm out and curled it twice, "Come."
They both flashed away from the others, leaving them to fight each other.
Naruko and Madara appeared in a lone field, far away from the others. Naruko assumed her Jinsokuna Ken stance and Madara just folded his arms, managing to look amused.
"To know such an old and deadly Taijutsu style. You must be good friends with your Biju, for no one in Konoha knows that style well enough."
Naruko nodded, "After an incident concerning those Hyuga bastards when I was younger, Kyuu-chan and I have been good friends. I've been trained by a Biju, which is why I'm so amazing at the age of seventeen. I've been trained by the best."
Madara let her attack first and narrowly dodged her kick. He noticed the red chakra that accompanied her own chakra and cursed silently. Biju chakra would be a pain to deal with. She could possibly do damage, even though he was only a reanimation.
He retaliated with a kick to her stomach and was impressed when she exploded. She knew Kage Bunshin. He spun around and punched her in the face, not surprised to find that she was also a Kage Bunshin.
Naruko appeared a few feet away, hands forming a cross sign. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Thousands of Naruko's appeared and charged Madara.
Giving a nod of recognition at her skill, he began to dispatch of the Bunshin. Flipping over them, he grabbed an arm and swung the Bunshin around, using it to destroy a few other Bunshin. He punched, kicked, flipped and dodged, easily taking out the Bunshins.
Briefly, he noticed that the girl hadn't moved once during the whole fight. She was evaluating his fighting style and trying to come up with a way to negate it. A clever move.
He made a hand sign, "Katon: Goka Mekkyaku!"
Naruko's eyes widened and she flew through the seals, "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!"
The wave of water collided with the wall of fire and created a fog of steam that covered the area. Naruko glared at the white surrounding her. Slipping on her special suppressor bracelet, she hid her presence. She then made a hand hand sign and began to sink into the ground. She'd find his chakra and use thatjutsu.
She latched onto his signature and appeared beneath him and reached her hand up, grabbing his ankle, "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!"
Madara was dragged underground and she flipped up, away from him, using her wind chakra to blow the infernal fog away. She made a hand sign and held her palms out, a white light forming, "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"
Madara used the Kawarimi to avoid the jutsu. One he was familiar with.
"So, how did you get the legendary fence sitter to teach you Jinton?" he asked casually, appearing in front of her.
She shrugged, "My company was doing business with the Daimyo of Tsuchi no Kuni. After saving Onoki-Jiji's granddaughter from a missing Iwagakure ninja, he agreed to teach me some things, so long as I only pass the atrs on to my clan members."
"The Uzumaki are dead."
Naruko smirked, "And yet I was able to save two orphans and bring them to Konoha. Then there was Nagato and me, the Uzumaki Clan Head."
Madara nodded, "Interesting." His eyes began to swirl and he took a step back in shock.
"Genjutsu have never worked on me. Good attempt though."
The Uchiha's eyes stopped swirling and became a light purple, with rings. He smiled when she gaped, "Yes, the Sharingan can evolve into the Rinnegan. Which is why I don't need my eyes from you. I have my own."
He made a hand sign, "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!"
Naruko kept still as they were lifted into the air by the enormous forest that grew from the ground. She held on tight, until the movement stopped. She made a sign, "Taju Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Several wood Bunshin rose from the tree beneath her and attacked Madara. He countered with, "Mokuton Mokuryu no Jutsu!"
A large wood dragon with a long trunk like nose, rose from the wood. It roared and charged, destroying the Bunshin.
Naruko focused on the wooden beast and raised her hands, "Shinra Tensei."
The dragon was halted as an invisible force repelled it. The strength was so high, that the wood broke under the pressure and disintegrated. She and Madara faced each other, waiting for the other to make a move.
She bit her finger and made a hand sign, "Chi Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The blood on her finger fell to the ground and spread out into a large red puddle. From the puddle, rose a perfect clone of Naruko. A blood clone. The best kind of clone out there.
The clone jumped off, already knowing it's job.
"Now what could she be up to?" Madara queried.
"I'm just worried for my husband and friends," she lied with a smile.
Madara nodded, not believing her in the least. He watched as she made a sign and an orange color surrounded her eyes, just as the Kyuubi's chakra grew. She opened her eyes, to reveal the Rinnegan, which was now colored yellow. In the center of her eye was a red slit that was overlapped by black line that ran across it.
Naruko disappeared from his line of view and she landed a kick to his face, smashing it completely. She grabbed his body, placing a Hiraishin seal on it as she prepared to throw him.
Madara's body slammed into a tree, going through it and the one behind it.
His head materialized and he stood, dusting himself off. "This may actually be difficult." He made a sign, and a blue light encompassed his body.
Naruko knew what he was doing. Cancelling the connection between him and Obito. If Obito was killed, then he would disappear with no way of returning. Obito must have been losing, for Madara to do this.
Obito was seriously outmatched. He had several highly skilled shinobi to fight, and after using the Edo Tensei, his chakra had gone down considerably. Not only that, but they had found out his fighting strategy and he didn't really have anything else that could save him from the four Sharingan's and the Gama Sennin.
He couldn't use his plan and now he was running out of options. No Biju, no Rinnegan. He was at a severe disadvantage.
He tried to kill Kakashi, but missed. The silver haired Jonin informed him that he didn't kill Rin willingly. She was under the control of someone else and asked him to do it. He didn't want to believe it. Any of it! Rin would never ask to die.
He had screamed at Kakashi, telling him that he had seen him run her through with his Raiton jutsu.
Apparently though, Kakashi was so sure that what he was saying was the truth. He pleaded for Obito to stop his assault and to come back to the village. To come back to the life he could've had.
Obito wasn't a fool though. He knew that after everything he had done, there was no way he could be accepted without repercussions for what he did. Even the word 'Hokage' wasn't enough to sway him to believe his once friend.
Kakashi tried everything. He even pointed out how currently, with the way everything was going, Obito was obviously on the losing side and he had nothing else to fight for. They could kill him easily where he was, but were trying to reason with him. Always a Konoha thing. Trying to reason with the enemy. A foolish hope that everything can be resolved without any violence. They were already in the middle of a battle, so avoiding violence now would be pointless.
Obito refused to be swayed. Kakashi has betrayed his trust. He had killed the girl who loved him. Whom Obito had loved. Whether she was under a Genjutsu or not, shouldn't have mattered. He should've just let her kill him.
He paused in his thought. Dying too early, and not living his life. Did he really wish that Kakashi would have died then? He frowned. No. He was never one to wish something like that on somebody, but then again, here he was, planning to kill his once friend, out of anger. Some hypocrite he was.
Something hit him and he couldn't move, or open his eyes. What had happened?
He opened his eyes, and gasped.
Rin!
What was she doing there? Where was 'there' anyway? He sat up and looked around. He was in what looked like a forest. Rin stood in front of him, holding out her hand, giving him the smile he loved so much.
"Come on!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. "Let's go!"
She turned and began pulling him. In the distance, he could see Minato-sensei and Kakashi. Both waved, Minato was giving him a wide grin.
The scene shifted and he was standing in front the the Hokage Monument, surrounded by his friends. He noticed how his face was carved next to his sensei's. He was the Godaime? What was going on? Was this what was supposed to happen if he had survived that boulder?
The scene shifted again and he was standing beside Kakashi looking out at the village from the top of the Monument.
Kakashi turned to him, "Please come back Obito?"
Obito opened his eyes, to see Kakashi sitting on his chest, the Raikiri shoved in his chest. "I'm sorry," Kakashi told him.
Vaguely, Obito could feel Madara releasing the Edo Tensei and he sighed. So he was going to die this time.
He had survived the last time. He could've returned to Konoha. He could've become the Hokage. So many things that could've happened.
He was a part of a plan, that had ultimately failed. They had no Biju. The Akatsuki was completely destroyed. He was positive that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki would defeat Madara. She had been a glitch in their plans so much, that he was sure she'd stop the older Uchiha. Especially with the Rinnegan.
Something wet fell on his face, and he looked at Kakashi. The tears pouring from the Jonin's eyes.
"I'm so sorry Obito."
He stared ahead, unsure of what to say.
Kakashi could only feel regret. Regret for treating Obito so horribly in their youth. For only having about six hours of actual comradeship between them, even if they were in danger, they the best hours of his life. For not being able to save Obito from the cave. For leaving him there. For killing Rin. For being unable to help sensei. So many things he regretted, and he'd gladly go back a fix everything.
His biggest regret though, was having to kill both his best friends, because there was no other way. He even used the same attack.
Obito didn't meet his gaze. He was looking at the sky. The dark sky of Amegakure which was for once, not raining.
"Do you think…..that if I hadn't been crushed by that boulder, I could've become the Hokage?" the Uchiha asked, still looking at the sky.
Kakashi nodded, "Yeah. You would've been the best too."
He nodded absent-mindedly. Kakashi was never one to lie to protect someone's feelings. He had a feeling that that would never change.
Obito's eyes closed and he heaved a sigh.
"Sorry, Kakashi."
Naruko jumped back, twisting midair to counter a kick from Madara. She didn't land however. Instead she remained airborne, floating there.
Madara's brow quirked. A flying shinobi. Interesting.
Naruko clapped her hands together and shot the bright light at him again.
Madara stood in the same place and absorbed the attack like it was nothing. Nothing but a simple breeze.
The Uchiha went through a series of hand signs, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
Naruko countered with the same Jutsu, her fireball completely overtaking Madara's.
He huffed, "You're surprisingly good at Katon," he begrudgingly admitted.
Naruko sent him grin, "My husband is especially skilled at it. You aren't best friends with a skilled Katon user for ten years without picking up somethings."
His eyes seemed to sparkle, "So interesting that you would marry an Uchiha. Even more interesting that he'd be allowed to marry outside the family."
The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki shrugged. "Sasuke is only the second son of the Head Family. Besides, Fugaku and Mikoto were friends with my parents, knew of my lineage and the fact that I'm the richest person in the world, means I wasn't in it for the money and I can take care of myself just fine. I graduated top of the class, proving that I had the intelligence required. Sasuke was very persistent in the last four years, promising that I'd be happily married to him before my eighteenth birthday, and succeeding. I swear, you Uchiha never give up," she explained with a shake of her head.
Madara smirked at that and nodded his head, "Indeed we do not."
Kakashi leapt away from Obito's body as a black substance rose from the ground and clung to it.
Obito's body convulsed wildly, before settling down.
His best friend's body, which had been in the process of dying, moved to its feet once more, the black substance was slowly taking over the visible parts of the Uchiha.
"I'm not letting you give in so easily. You'll keep fighting, even if you don't want to."
Konan glared, "You won't give up, will you Zetsu?"
The black mass covered Obito's face, forming a different face. It laughed. "You will die!"
Konan looked at Kakashi, "I have a trap set up in the lake. But we'd have to get him there. And you'd have to be okay with your friends body exploding."
Kakashi threw the purple haired woman a horrified look. Jiraiya flashed to his side and smacked him upside the head. "Kakashi, he's already dead. If we're to defeat this thing, then we can't dawdle. We have to get going and do whatever we can!"
Kakashi nodded while rubbing his abused head. The Sannin was right. He couldn't afford to let his emotions get the better of him in this sort of situation. With a sigh, the Copy Ninja stood. "Let's do it. So Obito can finally rest in peace."
Konan raised her hands in the air and pieces of paper began to circle above her head. "Chakram," she stated simply, letting the object go, watching as it sped toward Zetsu.
The body moved out of the way and then dodged another Chakram heading its way. The two passed each other and turned to attack the Akatsuki member again.
Jiraiya bit his thumb and summoned a large toad. They performed a collaboration Jutsu, setting the forest on fire.
Zetsu jumped away as he dodged the Chakram's again. He began running off in a direction, but was blocked by a large Katon Jutsu that was in his way.
He changed directions and continued on his way. Weaving around their attacks easily.
Not once did he realize that they were leading him to the water.
Kakashi Shunshined ahead of them and appeared on the water, his hand flying through the signs faster than ever. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"
When the Zetsu possessed Obito jumped onto the water, he had no time to dodge the large waterfall of water surging toward him and he took the hit, falling in the water.
Konan flew over the lake with her origami wings and raised her hands.
Kakashi jumped away as the water parted into two large walls of water and the darkness below the lake was revealed.
Zetsu was seen, falling in the darkness and Konan waved her hand, causing the water to push closer to his falling form.
Jiraiya, Itachi, Sasuke and Shisui watched from beside Kakashi, who was wondering what would happen.
He didn't have to wonder for too long. Konan threw something into one of the walls of water, making it explode. That spurred on the entire line of water. The wall on the other side reacted to explosions that weren't too far away and went off as well.
Konan landed beside them. "There are billions of explosive tags inside the lake to keep the explosions going for ten minutes. So, even if Zetsu were to use Obito's Kamui, it would wear off, because the time limit for it is five minutes. There is no way that he can get out of this."
Jiraiya smiled and patted her back, "You thought long and hard about this huh?"
She nodded, "I knew he would be coming at some point, and I didn't waste any time."
Each ninja was ready for any possible attacks. The only sounds, were the ones coming from Naruko's and Madara's direction. When ten minutes passed and there was still no sign of movement from the lake, the turned to go and assist Naruko in her battle.
Konan frowned, "White Zetsu is still around here somewhere."
"What can he do?" Itachi asked, curious.
"Make unlimited multiple clones of himself. He was created of Senju Hashirama's DNA and can use Mokuton, Suiton and Doton. He's a creation, not a real human and can copy chakra signatures perfectly, making his Henge perfect. He can travel through objects and Nagato said that the clones were able to merge together. That's all I personally know."
"So he could be anywhere," Shisui frowned.
"And can use Mokuton," Itachi added.
"This is such a pain in the ass!" Sasuke growled in annoyance.
Kakashi spared a look behind him and sighed in apology to his friend. As he was about to turn back to his comrades something caught his eye and flash through a Katon Jutsu as quickly as possible.
"Katon: Karyudan!"
The others were on their guard and turned to see Kakashi burning something white.
Several white things rose from the ground and Sasuke said the very thing that was on everyone's minds, "Fuck."
Naruko dodged another kick from the Uchiha.
His Taijutsu was definitely better than any other person she had ever met. She was slightly frustrated, because it was obvious that the Taijutsu normally taught these days were watered down and useless. If everyone could fight like this, the villages would be much more powerful and have a lot more close range fighters.
Madara was everywhere at once. She would admit to the fact that she wasn't quite as fast as him and therefore, he had one up on her.
She created some Kage Bunshin, without using hand signs and together, they made up for her lack of speed by splitting his attention.
She reached into her small pouch and pulled out a scroll. "Kai."
Samehada's handle appeared and she grasped it tightly, pulling it from the containment seal. She placed the scroll back in her pouch and charged at Madara.
He caught her arm, but didn't expect the zanbato to move on its own. The sword growled and latched onto Madara's other arm and began to suck on his chakra. Naruko took that chance to twist Madara's arm off, leaving a paper like stump behind. It grew back though and Naruko wanted to curse. Unlimited chakra was not something good to have in an opponent.
Samehada was steadily growing larger as it continued to suck out the chakra from Madara's modified body.
When the Uchiha realized he couldn't shake the weapon off, he decided to ignore it and continued his assault on Naruko.
The blonde actually cursed this time and cartwheeled out of the way. Madara was on her in an instant and she had to twist her body while her feet were still in the air, to windmill and kick him away.
She jumped up and moved aside fast enough to dodge the large red object flying her way. It was Samehada, which had gotten so big, it actually knocked a tree down. Naruko huffed and picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder and waited for Madara to show himself.
He stepped out of the trees, his hair blowing in the wind. "Your reaction time is surprisingly good," he stated with a glare.
The blonde shrugged and measured his distance, wondering how the hell she was going to finish him off. That Bunshin better have planned something good when she made herself disappear.
Madara ran through some signs and Naruko followed suit.
"Katon: Zukokku!"
"Suiton: Taihodan!"
Naruko blew the fire away with a large stream of water that spilled from her mouth.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Both ninja looked off in the direction of the explosions. They were coming from the direction of the lake.
"It seems they're holding Obito off pretty well," Madara commented.
Naruko nodded and reached into her pouch, pulling out a scroll. She unfurled it and bit her thumb and slid the blood across the center. She then threw it up in the air and watched as it exploded and a hail of varied weaponry rained down upon Madara.
While he was busy dodging and moving around, Naruko created several Kage Bunshin who began running through the long signs of a Jutsu she had learned in Iwagakure. "Doton: Dangan no Jutsu!" they called simultaneously.
Several large rocks lifted from the ground and were thrown in Madara's direction. The line of Naruko's then clapped their hands together and created the bright light.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"
The combined attacks, dismantled the surrounding area, taking Madara down. Of course Naruko knew he would just regenerate, but she needed to buy time. Time for her Chi Bunshin.
She could feel her chakra fading. She was human and unlike Madara who was gifted with unlimited amounts of chakra due to his being a reanimation, she was actually running out.
Samehada, which was resting on her back, began to transfer the chakra it had gathered from Madara in to her body. She patted the large zanbato and smiled. It was taking care of her! It stopped after a few seconds, leaving Naruko feeling nearly full again.
Madara's body took a bit longer to regenerate this time and Naruko noticed something behind him. It was her Chi Bunshin. She couldn't sense any chakra from her position, which meant that it was hiding from him as well.
When Madara's body was fully together again, he sent her a smirk. "Nice way to get yourself time, but since you did nothing, it was all in vain."
Naruko pulled out a kunai with a Hiraishin seal on it and gave Madara a smirk that rivaled his own. "I wouldn't say that if I were you," she taunted.
Madara was thrown forward, by an unknown force behind him. He turned and moved to punch his attacker. All he saw was a flash of yellow before his assailant as gone. Turning back to the Jinchuuriki, he saw two of her standing there grinning at him.
The Naruko on the right held up a piece of paper with strange markings on it.
"This is why Chi Bunshin are so useful. She spent all this time making these and they won't dispel when she does. Would you like to know what this is Madara-Jiji?" she asked with an evil looking grin.
He scowled, "Do tell, girl. What is so special about a small picture?"
"It's a seal. A mixture of many seals. Decomposition, Obstruction, Purloining, and Enslavement are the four types of seals that make up this one seal. I created this one specifically for you in mind, though I didn't know that you would be a reanimation when Nagato warned me about you. That part doesn't really matter though. This seal is powerful and the only downside, is that it needs to be done in pairs. Two seals must make contact with my target for it to work, and my Chi Bunshin has already gotten you from behind," she told him.
He didn't seem all that threatened. He didn't even look worried. So, she continued on with her explanation.
"You see, the different seals each have a part in what happens. The decomposition, breaks your body down and forces it to decay. If you were alive, it would be extremely painful for you. But you're already dead and it doesn't really matter since your body isn't real anyway. Obstruction, removes your chakra from your soul and seals it into your eroding body. Purloining, has to be specified and the specification for it in this case, was your soul. It will take your soul from your body. And finally, we have Enslavement. This also needs to be specified and so I made it to where your soul will be under the power of Kyuubi and she can do whatever she wants to you, for however long she chooses."
The realization of her words seemed to hit home, and for once since the beginning of the fight, Madara Uchiha looked nervous. If what she said was true, then he really couldn't let her touch him again. To think that a brat who wasn't even seventeen yet, could come up with something that could actually defeat him and put him in the servitude of the most powerful Biju in history. He was shocked.
Well fuck.
He really couldn't let her get close now. No Taijutsu at all. Even a simple block could spell the end for him. He needed to keep her away and make sure she was taken care of quickly. She'd run out of chakra soon and then he'd be free.
Naruko noticed that he had understood the severity of the situation and when he threw a large Katon Jutsu her way, she knew he now meant business.
The Kyubi Jinchuuriki and her Bunshin turned and ran. Better to get some distance and think of a plan. Samehada was making loud growling noises and she could feel it pulsating.
She and the Bunshin crisscrossed through the forest, following the sound of the explosions that had yet to let up. They broke the barrier of the trees, to see the lake, or rather a large line of explosions in the center of the lake. At least a mile away, they could see the others waiting on the edge for something.
When the explosions stopped abruptly, Naruko ran for the edge, "In the water!" she ordered her Bunshin.
They both dove in and swam down as far as they could. They faced each other and when Naruko began to make signs, the Bunshin followed suit.
The two held their right arms out, making their hands touch slightly and the wind chakra for their jutsu began to swirl in their open palms. Both luckily, were spinning in the same direction and combined, making the water surrounding them spin and part, creating a whirlpool.(A/N: Apropos huh?)
The real Naruko removed her hand and made some more signs. The water was now gone and the sky was seen above them. They were now floating in the center of a large vortex of water that was being forcefully rotated by the wind chakra in the Rasenshuriken's base.
Madara appeared in the area above them and Naruko let loose a large Katon Jutsu on the Rasenshuriken. The power of the Jutsu's clashing and the spinning of the shuriken, tilted the flames upward and acted as a fan, pushing the fire toward Madara in a ridiculous speed.
His body was caught and the Two Naruko's Shunshined to dry land, letting Madara fall in the now dying vortex and get consumed by the raging water.
"Stalling isn't going to work forever," her Bunshin stated.
"No, really?" Naruko asked sarcastically. "I thought I'd just keep at it until I was worn out."
The Bunshin stuck her tongue out.
"AAAAH!"
Both looked over and the original Naruko was knocked off her feet by a flying projectile.
She sat up and grinned. Somehow, Sasuke had just been tossed into her lap. Literally, because his face was right between her legs.
"If we weren't fighting an enemy right now, I'd love to reenact chapter thirteen of Icha Icha Violence with you," she smirked.
He groaned and lifted his head to give her the audience of his narrowed eyes. "Where is your enemy right now?"
"Probably putting himself back together. I need to get a seal on him in order to defeat him. However, now that he knows what it'll do, he's become a lot fiercer and I'm starting to lose chakra."
Sasuke frowned and flipped to his feet, hauling her up when he as steady. "I can probably hold him off with my Susano. I'm better than Itachi is with it, so I think I can give him a run for his money. In the meantime, you can try to get that on him."
Naruko gave him a concerned look, "You told me that it hurts you to use it."
He shrugged, "My pain doesn't matter when an all powerful enemy is about to kill us and we have a way to stop him. Let me help you."
Naruko sighed and nodded. "I'll try to do it quickly."
At that very second, something large and blue erupted from the water of Amegakure's lake.
"It seems that he's way ahead of us," Sasuke stated, pulling away from his wife to do the same as his enemy.
Madara gave the young Uchiha an unimpressed look. "What can a little boy like you do?"
Sasuke smirked as his Mangekyo formed, "More than you think."
His body was immediately surrounded by a dark purple light, similar in form to the blue light surrounding Madara's body.
"So young and yet you've already learned Susano. Interesting. Let's see if you know how to use it."
The Naruko's moved away from the conflict and began plotting ways to get the damn seal on the bastard Uchiha's body.
Naruko watched as Sasuke and Madara went head to head, their Susano's pulling out weapons and slashing at each other. Sasuke was aiming a Enton Jutsu and Madara countered his attack with a high wall of Amaterasu flames. The two shinobi parried each other in Susano while they fired attack after attack, hoping to bring the other down.
Sasuke held him off, long enough for Naruko to get an idea. She pulled Samehada from its place on her back and focused all her remaining chakra into it, then some of Kyubi's chakra to make it grow larger.
The Bunshin looked lost. Naruko winked and threw her sword into the lake and in a yellow flash was gone from the Bunshin's side.
Samehada crawled to the Bunshin and made a purring noise. She bent down and picked it up, looking around for her 'boss'. Samehada, being a sentient sword, relayed a message to her and she gasped. Only one chance for her creators plan to work.
Sasuke was sent spiraling into the lake, creating a huge splash in the process.
The Bunshin charged at Madara, swinging Samehada as fast as she could. It slammed against the side of his Susano's ribcage and made a crack in the frame. She reared back and attacked again. And again. And again. On the fifth thrust, Madara let her slip through his Susano in order to grab the arm holding the sword.
Samehada had its own plan in mind growled at Madara, before latching its mouth onto his leg.
Madara crushed the arm of the Bunshin and was immediately covered in blood. He then moved to attack the zanbato currently trying to take his leg off, when he felt something. A little tap. Small and almost insignificant.
He felt a pressure on his soul and looked down at the shark like sword in horror. It was huge and alive. And quite possibly capable of swallowing a full sized human.
A string of expletives left his mouth as the pull on his soul became heavier and harder to hold off.
She had bested him. A little girl, who was barely more than a child, had gotten him. It was so embarrassing. He, Madara Uchiha had been defeated by a Jinchuuriki. Pathetic.
His body decomposed and Samehada fell into the water. His soul following it.
The large lips of the sword split and a yellow colored object floated from the recess of its body.
Naruko grinned as a glowing ball of white entered her body through the seal on her stomach. The Uchiha-teme knew that Samehada could move on its own and could eat chakra, but he didn't know that she could hide inside it whenever she needed to. To think that her main defeat of the greatest enemy she ever faced, was done by letting her sword swallow her and then taking his ignorance as a chance to slap the second seal on his leg. No big and fancy jutsu to end it all. Nope. Just a sword and a seal.
The legendary Kyubi no Youko grinned at the creature shivering before her. The bastard that had been the whole reason she was sealed away into the first Uzumaki all those years ago. For using her in that battle against the Shodaime Hokage. And for ordering the little twerp of an Uchiha to control her and force her to attack her Kit's village. Then, get her seal again! It was all his fault! And now he was at her mercy.
Thank you Kit. I plan to make him suffer, since he can't escape and he has no chakra to use.
Naruko's form appeared outside Kyubi's seal. She had a devilish smile on her face.
I figured it's the best I can do for you, considering all you have done for me all these years. Do whatever you want with him. It's all up to you.
The great Kitsune nodded in appreciation and growled at Madara, whom was shaking from the fear. He was helpless in this situation and had no way out of it. Fuck.
Kyubi's large teeth gleamed. I'm going to have so much fun!
Naruko broke the surface of the water and sighed. Her fight was over.
She looked around, trying to find Sasuke. He wasn't on the land, which meant that he was in the water!
She dove back in the water and looked around, trying to sense his chakra. It as faint, which meant that he barely had any left and he was most likely drowning. Dammit!
She focused some of Kyubi's chakra into Samehada and had it lead her to Sasuke. Probably the best sword in the world. It swam deeper into the lake while she held onto the handle and if it wouldn't coast her air, she would've sighed in relief when Sasuke's body came into view.
She grabbed him and Samehada took off for the surface.
She threw Sasuke's body on the ground and slammed her hand into his stomach, making his body jerk and causing the water that had been trapped in his lungs to spill from his mouth. He coughed and sputtered, trying to get the much needed air in and the unneeded water out.
"Come on Ducky, you can't kick the bucket yet," she told him, smacking his face around.
He was still hacking up a lung.
"We haven't even acted out chapter ten of Icha Icha Paradise yet!' she panicked.
Her words had the right effect on him and he sat up, looking her in the eye. "There's no way I'm dying before that happens!" he said in alarm.
She let out a relieved sigh, "You'll be okay."
Sasuke launched himself forward, knocking the Jinchuuriki over in the process.
"Sasuke, what are you-"
He silenced her with a kiss, which she quickly responded to.
They broke apart for air and he rested his forehead against hers. "You, have no idea how hot you are when you're fighting. I am the luckiest man in the world."
Naruko smirked, "Yes. You are, aren't you?" She teased him, grinning the whole way.
Sasuke kissed her again, pressing himself as close as he could. Neither took into account how it was pouring rain, or that the wind was picking up. Nor did they hear their comrades show up in the middle of their activity.
A loud whistle met their ears.
"Damn kids, you can't even wait till we get back to the village! This is perfect research material!"
The pulled away from each other, sighing in annoyance. Jiraiya had the worst timing ever.
"Fuck off Ero-Sennin. Is your enemy dead?"
"Yes, finally. The Zetsu guy is dead as well, and we are bringing the original of the white body back to Konoha for testing. Now don't stop! I need this for my next book!"
The look that Naruko sent the old Sennin had him backing away and hiding behind Kakashi, who was too busy reading Icha Icha to notice.
Sasuke and Naruko stumbled to their feet, leaning against each other in order to stay upright.
Konan moved forward and grabbed Naruko's hands, "Thank you for coming to help me! How can I repay you?"
Naruko's lips pursed, "Keep in touch with Ero-Sennin. He hasn't seen you in a long time and I think so catching up would do you both some good."
Konan looked to Jiraiya, who was smiling broadly. She nodded. "Of course Naruko. I shall do as you've asked. Besides, I have missed Jiraiya-Sensei."
Naruko patted Konan's shoulder and looked to the guys she had dragged on this mission. "I think we should go home now. I have enough chakra from Kyubi to Hiraishin us to Ba-chan's office, but as soon as we get there, I'll probably pass out, so someone will have to catch me."
Sasuke locked his arms around her and she snorted. Of course. He would never let her fall.
Konan waved her hand and created an origami rose. She slipped it into Naruko's ponytail and smiled. "May Konoha and Ame see the years to come in companionship and peace."
With those words, Naruko was surrounded by her friends, who each latched onto her in some way as she prepared to get them home and out of the pouring rain.
"See you Konan."
With a wave, the Konoha ninja disappeared from Amegakure, leaving the purple haired leader to smile at the spot they had once inhabited.
Konan looked up at the sky and spread her arms out wide. Things were definitely going to be better now. And all because of a young child who was resolved to make a difference. Determination was definitely a key to world peace and Naruko Uzumaki had it in spades.
"Thank you."
Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, had been pacing her office in worry for the past ten hours. She had downed all of her stashed sake and had managed to remain sober the whole time. Naruko went to face Madara, who was said to be as strong as he grandfather! Sure, she had several of Konoha's best with her, but that didn't stop the busty blonde from worrying about her god-daughter.
She turned to face the window and whirled around when a sound alerted her of a presence in her office.
A group of soaking wet people was lying on the floor of her office.
Sasuke had his arms wrapped around Naruko, who was unconscious. They all looked like they had been through a war. Ripped clothing, gashes, bruises and drenched hair.
Sasuke sent her a what seemed to be exhausted look, "Can we wait till tomorrow to give you the mission report, we're a bit tired?"
No one moved as the puddle of water underneath them started to turn red.
Tsunade cursed.
"Anbu! Get me Shizune now!"
The Hokage immediately separated them all, trying to determine which one was in the worst shape. Shizune rushed into the room and gasped at the sight.
"Help me dammit!"
The two women began checking them all over. Naruko had severe chakra exhaustion. Sasuke had several broken ribs and also had chakra exhaustion. Kakashi and Itachi were both sporting some large gashes that they were trying to hide, Shisui had a broken arm and nose along with some small cuts. All of the Sharingan users had fiery pains in their eyes, probably from overuse. Most likely, they were going to need a lot of rest to get back up to speed. Jiraiya wasn't really injured in any way, his age was just catching up to him.
"I want all of them in the hospital," Tsunade said, snapping her fingers.
Several Anbu appeared and each one grabbed a body. The two who grabbed Naruko and Sasuke had to keep close to each other, because the couple's fingers were linked and they couldn't get them to separate, no matter how much force they used.
Tsunade dragged Shizune along to the hospital. Though she was glad to be away from the paperwork, she didn't like the distraction itself.
Please be alright!